Alterity is...
recognizing that the identities that people hold intersect with each other, creating different lived experiences and new perspectives. QSAPP explores Alterity and otherness through Disappearing Queer(s), an investigation of individuals and spaces in New York City that embraced the label of “otherness” to foster queer activism and highlight lived experiences.
Drawing on our group’s expertise as students of architecture, planning and preservation, QSAPP aims to explore Alterity and questions about “otherness.” We aim to spatially visualize and recount the impact of the built environment on the activism and identity of New York’s queer communities - specifically highlighting those that made them exceptional and are underrepresented in histories of the city.
The Paradise Garage, one of the most important and prominent clubs in New York City between 1977 and 1987, hosted a devoted patronage of sexual and ethnic minorities in SoHo. While the club has closed and the building has since been demolished, its legacy lives on through the sounds and cultural influence of its resident DJ, Larry Levan.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Levan, openly gay, was a Brooklyn native who is credited with creating the modern dance club experience through his mixing style and attention to the atmosphere of the floor. Deeply interested in the Harlem drag ballroom scene and the voguing culture that emerged from it, Levan constantly introduced his audience to new beats and audio intensities that combined multiple soundtracks, with records that were not typically heard within the dance music genre.
More than a functional DJ, Levan became the main attraction at Paradise Garage through his Saturday sets, which became known as “Saturday Mass.” His ability to work the crowd and the embrace of his passion to make music created a space that celebrated queerness and Alterity through sound and dance.
Bibliography:
Barna, Ben. “Memories of the Paradise Garage, From Those Who Danced There.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 May 2014, tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/09/flashback-memories-of-the-paradise-garage-larry-levan-street-party/.
“Features.” Larry Levan's Paradise Garage | DJhistory.com, 10 Oct. 2010, web.archive.org/web/20141006214617/www.djhistory.com/features/larry-levans-paradise-garage.
Shapiro, Peter. “Saturday Mass: Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage.” Red Bull Music Academy Daily, 22 Apr. 2014, daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2014/04/larry-levan-feature.
Image Credits:
Bernstein, Bill. Larry Levan, Paradise Garage. 1979. Photograph. https://www. billbernstein.com.
McKee, Paul. Ramp Leading Up To the Main Floor. 1986. Photograph.
Bernstein, Bill. Paradise Garage, Dance Floor. 1979. Photograph. https://www. billbernstein.com.
Llanos, Joey. Mark Riley, Gary Thornton, Joey Llanos and Larry Levan. Date Unknown. Photograph.
